Yan Xiaonan’s aggressive striking and strong control on the mat helped her to a comfortable unanimous decision victory over Karolina Kowalkiewicz tonight at UFC Fight Night 168.
Round One:
Both ladies exchange kicks to start the fight. Yan unloading with more kicks. Now a flurry of punches from Yan as Kowalkiewicz lands too.
Aggressive work from Yan as she wades forward with straight punches. More combination punching from Yan including a clean uppercut.
Spinning backfist attempt from Kowalkiewicz misses. Kowalkiewicz trying to work into the clinch there, but Yan wasn’t having it there.
However, Kowalkiewicz presses into the clinch again and works Yan over to the cage. However, then Yan does well to take her down instead.
Kowalkiewicz trying to work for an armbar and Yan opts to back out and go back to striking.
Yan barrels forward into the clinch against the cage. Kowalkiewicz keeps touching below her eye where she has a significant contusion from earlier in the round.
Yan with a hard side kick to the body. Now punches to the head. Kowalkiewicz clinches up, but it’s Yan who nicely trips her to the mat.
Yan landing solid ground and pound and then stands over her opponent landing a couple of kicks to the legs.
Back to striking range and there’s a last exchange of punches.
Round Two:
Kowalkiewicz inbetween rounds was complaining about her right eye, saying she’s struggling to see out of the it properly according to the translator and claimed she was seeing triple.
Before the round starts the doctor takes a close look at Kowalkiewicz and he allows her to continue.
Body kick from Yan. Yan into the clinch, but nothing happens from that. Kowalkiewicz with a high guard to that eye now.
Yan continuing to tee off on her. She lands a big right hand. Again she lands a three-piece combo.
Hard body kick and another strong flurry but this time Kowalkiewicz drives forward and presses Yan up against the cage.
Kowalkiewicz trying to get something working from here, but nothing doing and Yan reverses the position. Hard knees to the leg from Yan and then lands a takedown.
She doesn’t follow Kowalkiewicz to the mat though and the fight resets on the feet. Kowalkiewicz tries a side kick that misses and Yan takes her back and then brings her down.
North south position from Yan for a moment and then opts to stand up. Jab lands for Kowalkiewicz. She lands again as she tries to battle her way back into the fight.
Right hand for Yan. Now la jab. Kowalkiewicz constantly putting her right hand to her injured eye. Yan lands a solid one-two.
Round Three:
More offense from Yan to start the final round. Now a solid body shot that has Kowalkiewicz covering up to the midsection momentarily.
Hard one-two for Yan and then a side kick to the head. Now Yan flows into a takedown and lands it. Kowalkiewicz works for a leg lock now. She starts to crank on it. Yan is punching away at her thigh while she’s trying to work this submission hold.
Finally Kowalkiewicz starts to give up on the submission and Yan works her way back on top. Punches to the body from Yan.
Yan lands to the head in the final minutne of the round, but is mostly focusing on control here. Kowalkiewicz able t roll on top and Yan is landing what may well have been illegal kicks to the head there, but it isn’t affecting the outcome of the fight too much here as the round comes to an end.
Decision
No doubt about the winner here, with Yan dominating on the feet and controlling on the mat against Kowalkiewicz, who struggled to find her rhythm and was hindered by having her right eye compromised early in the fight. Yan gets the unanimous decision victory (30-26 x3).
